Recycle smart this holiday season

Wednesday

Nov 21, 2018 at 4:07 PM

The holidays bring so much to look forward to: comforting meals and gift exchanges with friends and family, twinkling lights adorning the trees and homes along your street, packages on doorsteps, and greeting cards filling your mailbox.

But have you ever stopped to think about the sheer number of items that end up in your community’s recycling stream? We should all make an effort to recycle smart every day, it’s especially important —at the holidays.

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, American household waste increases by more than 25 percent. Recycling smart means ensuring that what we put in our bins actually belongs there. This is critical for protecting our environment and supporting our local communities. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is committed to educating consumers on the do’s and don’ts of recycling this holiday season—helping us stay green even when we’re blanketed in white.

Holiday lights

Though beautiful on your house, tree or mantel, string lights don’t belong in your recycling bin. They wrap around machinery at your local recycling facility, causing sorting to come to a grinding halt! String lights should be reused or disposed of in your trash bin.

Food waste

No matter what holiday you are celebrating, a tasty meal is more than likely a central part of it! After you’ve cleared the table, rinse cans and jars, and make sure all food packaging is empty and free of food remnants before tossing them in your recycling bin. All food waste should be placed in your compost or trash.

Gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and tissue paper

Who among us doesn’t accumulate piles of wrapping paper, broken ribbon and bows, and tissue paper at some point during the holiday season? Gift bags can be thrown in your household recycling unless there is metallic ink, foil or glitter on them, in which case, you should toss them in the trash along with wrapping paper. Don’t forget to cut those string handles off your gift bags before recycling! Tissue paper, ribbon, and bows should be reused or put in the trash as well.

Greeting cards

Spreading holiday cheer is one of the best ways to celebrate this special time of year! Recycle greeting cards and their envelopes are recyclable unless there is metallic ink, foil or glitter on them, in which case, you should toss them in the trash.

Packing peanuts, bubble wrap and padded envelopes

While cardboard boxes belong in your recycling bin, packing peanuts, and padded envelopes should be put in your trash, while bubble wrap should be brought back to your supermarket to be properly recycled along with plastic wrap and plastic bags.

Paper plates, plastic cutlery, colored plastic cups and paper napkins

Disposable plates, cups, cutlery, and napkins are a staple of many holiday get-togethers, but unfortunately, they cannot be recycled (the exception is clear plastic cups). These items should go in the trash after you’re done with them.

About Recycle Smart MA

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) launched Recycle Smart this summer to educate Bay Staters on what does and doesn’t belong in household recycling bins. Reducing ‘contamination’ in the recycling stream not only benefits the environment, but also reduces costs for cities and towns across Massachusetts. For more information, visit the new website RecycleSmartMA.org.